Magnifying attachment for looping machines



March 6, 1934. J. HAINES, JR 1,949,416

MAGNIFYING ATTACHMENT FOR LOOPING MACHINES Filed Feb. 19, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W1 TNESSES: INVENTOR:

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March 6,, 1934. J HNNES, JR 1,949,416

MAGNIFYING ATTACHMENT FOR LOOPING MACHINES Filed Feb. 19, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG: H

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Patented Mar. 6, 1934 TATE' MAGNIFYING ATTACHMENT FOR LODPING MAGHENES Joseph Haines, J12, Meadowbrook, Pa., assignor to Barnes Hosiery Mills, line, Philadelphia, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 19, 1932, Serial No. 594,023

Claims.

This invention relates to magnifying means designed for use more particularly with topping machines such as are universally employed in full fashioned hosiery manufacture in applying 5 stocking leg blanks to the points of transfer bars to facilitate transfer of the blanks to the footers whereby the stocking feet are knitte in direct continuation. with said leg blanks.

In operating topping machines of the types referred to, the stocking fabrics are run, loop by loop, and by hand onto the individual loop ongaging instrumentalities of the machines in readiness for displacement onto the points of transfer bars previously laid into the machines-all as well understood by those skilled in full fash" ioned hosiery manufacture. This manually performed looping operation is exceedingly tedious, diificult and exacting, especially with fine gage fabrics, and it is moreover attended by severe eye strain.

In the main, my invention is directed toward facilitating the work of the operatives of looping machines through provision of a simple and inexpensive magnifying attachment which is easy of incorporation with the machines, and which embodies a magnifying glass with means whereby the glass may be adjusted focally in the line of the operators vision over the loop engaging in strumentalities at the region where the fabric is run on.

It is a further aim. of my invention to make provisions whereby the magnifying glass may be moved in parallelism to the loop engaging in strumentalities under the control of the operafor, incident to prcgressively'running the loops of the stocking fabric onto said instrunientalitie.

Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will be manifest from the detailed de scription following of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I is an illustration in vertical elevation showing my improved magnifying attachment in association with a standard type of stocking topping machine.

Fig. II is a fragmentary detail view showing how the magnifying glass may be swung upward out of the way for the purposes of direct access to the looping instrumentalities of the machine.

Fig. III is an illustration of the organization viewed as indicated by the arrows III- II in Fig. I with a portion broken out to expose important details in section.

Fig. IV is a fragmentary illustration viewed as indicated by the arrows IVIV in Fig. I; and

Fig. V is a detail sectional view taken as indicated by the arrows V-V in Fig. III.

With more detailed reference first to these 11- lustrations, the numeral 1 comprehensively designates a standard for. of topping machine such as is commonly used in applying full fashioned stocking leg blanks to transfer bars for convenience of subsequent impalement upon the needies of footers which knit the stocking feet in direct continuation With the leg blanks. in the use of such a machine, the terminal loops of the stocking leg blanks are run by hand onto a horizontal series of point-like loop engaging instrumentalities 2 held in a clamp bar 3 which is rigidly secured to the main frame 4 of the machine. After application of a stocking blank as just explained, a transfer bar is placed, as indicated in dash and-dot lines at 5 in Fig. I, on holder brackets 6 afforded by the machine, with its points 7 in individual with the instrumentalities 2. The curved actuating handle 3 of the machine is thereupon grasped by the operative and the stripper frame 9 swung forwardly on its fulcrum 10, with attendant displacement of the fabric loops from the instrumentalities 2 to the points *7 of the transfer bar 5 by the stripper fingers 11 along the upper edge of said stripper frame.

The magnifying attachment with which the present invention is more particularly concerned is generally indicated by the numeral 12, and as shown, comprises a bearing member or piece 13 which is secured, by means of screws 14, to the curved actuating handle 8 of the topping machine. At its upper end, the bearing piece 13 carries a transverse pin 15 which serves as a fulcrum axis for an arm 16, that reaches forwardly over the machine. At the region of its fulcrum, the arm 16 has an angularly directed downward bifurcation 17 that engages over, and aligns with the bearing piece 13. A stop projection 18 on the bearing piece 13 functions to normally maintain the arm 16 in the horizontal position shown in Fig. I; while the limit to which the arm may be upwardly swung as in Fig. II, is determined by contact of the flats 19 at the ends of the bifurcation 1'? with the stop projection 18 aforesaid on the bearing piece 13. An open triangular bracket 20 .upported by the arm 16, has its lower horizontal bar 21 longitudinally grooved as at 22 for engagement by the dovetail tongue 23, see Figs. III and V of a slide 2% whereto is secured an elongate magnifying glass 25 and whereby said glass may be iElOVEd. from the normal full line position leftward to the dot-anddash line position in Fig. 111 and vice versa, the movement being in parallelism with the loop engaging instrurnentalities of the topping machine. To enable universal positional and focal adjustment of the magnifying glass 25, the supporting arm 16 and the vertical center bar 26 of the triangular bracket 20 are respectively formed with longitudinal slots 2'? and 23 for passage of the securing bolt designated by the numeral 29, said bolt being fitted with a winged clamp nut 30. Thus, by loosening the nut 30, the frame 20 may be moved up and down or along the supporting arm 16 to'bring the magnifying glass 25 in the line of vision of the operative and to properly focus it so that the loop engaging instrumentalities may be clearly seen enlarged as the stocking blanks are applied to them.

In order that the hands of the operative may be left entirely free to perform the running-on operation, I provide foot controlled means for moving the magnifying glass 25 along the guide 22 of the frame 20, including a pedal lever B which is pivoted at 32 to a bracket 33 secured to the floor beneath the table 34 whereon the topping machine 1 is supported. At 35, the pedal lever 31 has a sliding pin connection with a motion multiplying arm 36 also pivoted to the bracket 33 at 37. From the outer end of the arm 36 extends a cable or cord 38 which is trained over and under guide sheaves 39 and 40 at the under side of the table top 34. From the sheave 40 the cord 38 passes upward through a slot 41 in the table top to a sheave 42 at the left-hand end of the fulcrum axis pin 15 of the arm 18, then forwardly to a guide sheave 44 on the sloping bar at the left side of the triangular bracket 26, and finally over another guide sheave 45 at the lower left corner of the said bracket to a point of attachment 46 at one end of the slide 24 carrying the magnifying glass 25. The movement of the glass 25 under actuation of the pedal lever 31 yieldingly opposed by a spring one end of which is anchored at 48 to the top of the table 34, and the other end attached to another cord 49. As shown in Figs. I and Ill, this cord 49 is guided over a sheave 50 at the right hand end of the axis pin 15 for the arm 18, then over a sheave 51 on the right hand sloping bar of the triangular bracket 20, and finally over a sheave 52 at the lower right hand corner of said frame to a point 53 of attachment on a slide 24 for the magnifying glass.

With the described arrangement, the operative is able, by gradual pressure upon the pedal lever 31 to move the glass 25 concurrently with the progressive application of the fabric loops to the instrumentalities 2 of the machine. After all the fabric loops are run on, the glass 25 is automatically restored to the normal position illustrated in full lines in Fig. III, by the spring 47 as the pressure upon the control pedal 31 is gradually relieved.

By virtue of the pivotal connection of the arm 16 with the actuating arm 8 of the topping machine, the magnifying glass 25 can be moved out of the way when direct access is required to the looping instrumentalities 2 of the machine, for example in making replacements. It is to be par ticularly noted that the design and allocation of the parts constituting the attachment are such that the adjustment of the magnifying glass 25 is no disturbed, nor the cord connections between said glass to the pedal control deranged incident to swinging of the arm 16 as aforesaid.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple and inexpensive magnifying attachment in forms suitable for topping machines, whereby the running on of the stockings is greatly facilitated so that the operation can be performed much more rapidly and accurately than heretofore and without excessive strain on the eyesight. Obviously the attachment is very easy of application to the machines and readily adjustable for focal positioning of the glass in the line of vision of the operative.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A magnifying glass supporting attachment for a stocking topping machine comprising a forwardly reaching arm pivoted to the actuating handle of the swinging stripper frame of the topping machine with capacity for being swung upward out of the way when required, and affording at its outer end a support to sustain the magnifying glass in the line of the operators vision; and spring-influenced pedal-operated means whereby the glass may be moved on its support in parallelism with the loop engaging instrumentalities of the machine incident to running on a stocking leg blank.

2. A magnifying glass supporting attachment for a stocking topping machine comprising an arm pivoted to the actuating handle of the swinging stripper frame of the machine and reaching forwardly over the loop engaging instrumentalities; a support at the end of said arm capable of universal adjustment to properly position the magnifying glass focally in the line of the vision of the operator; and pedal-actuated means whereby the glass may be shifted on its support in parallelism with the looping instrumentalities aforesaid in opposition to spring-restraint incident to running on a stocking leg blank.

3. A magnifying glass supporting attachment for a stocking topping machine comprising an arm reaching forwardly from the actuating handle of the swinging stripper frame of the machine over the loop engaging instrumentalities of the machine and affording, at its end, a support for the magnifying glass; means for moving the magnifying glass on its support in parallelism with the loop engaging instrumentalities in one direction incident to running on a stocking leg blank, including a control pedal, a cord connection guided over directional pulleys to the magnifying glass; and spring means opposing the control pedal to move the glass in the opposite direction, the operating cord connection permitting the necessary movement of the actuating handle of the machine incident to loop strippins.

4. A magnifying glass supporting attachment for a stocking topping machine comprising a pivoted arm reaching forwardly over the loop engaging instrumentalities of the machine with capacity to be swun upwardly out of the way when required, and affording at its outer end a support for the magnifying glass, means whereby the magnifying glass may be shifted on its support in parallelism with the looping instru" mentalities of the machine incident to running on a stocking leg blank, including a control pedal, a motion-multiplying arm having slidable connection with the pedal, a connecting cord from the free end of said motion-multiplying arm extending over guide pulleys coaxial with the pivot of the arm aforesaid enroute to the mag nifying glass, and spring means to yieldingly resist movement of the control pedal.

5. A magnifying glass-supporting attachment for a stocking topping machine comprising an arm pivoted to the actuating handle of the swinging stripper frame of the topping machine with capacity for being swung vertically out of the way when required and affording at its outer end a horizontal guide in parallelism with the looping instrumentalities to support the magnifying glass in the line of the operators vision; means for yieldingly maintaining the glass normally at one end of the guide support; and means whereby the glass may be moved along said guide support in opposition to the yielding means.

JOSEPH HAINES', JR. 

